"What's wrong with you, Kouichi? You've been acting weird for a while now!" Naoya, the one and the only Naoya Teshigawara, asked me.
Honestly, I don't know what the heck is going on myself.
This past half hour at this amusement park, Naoya brought me to find Izumi, and another girl with I've never seen before in my life!
"What the hell's wrong with you, man!? She just bumped into you this evening at the stairs!"
"I swear, I've never seen her before!"
Naoya sighed, before pulling the puffy-haired girl close to him.
"Right, right. I'll pretend you're just joking to me. Almost got me this time! Okay, meet Afira Briade, she's a transfer student from Indonesia, and one of the most annoying person I've ever met."
"EHH! What did you say!?" The girl exclaimed, before started punching Naoya in the shoulder.
"Ow! Hey! I'm just joking!"
"Aww, look at those two lovebirds!" Izumi, who's standing next to me, teased.
"Look who's talking! Just look at yourself and Kouichi! I swear, you two need to get a room or something!" Naoya jokingly said.
"That's it, you're *so* gonna get it, you bastard!"
And then Izumi starting chasing Naoya around, all the while the girl named Afira started laughing happily.
In the distance, I saw Kazami, Kazami! He's waving at me while his other hand holding Yukari's...who's giving me a shy smile.
Long story short, this past half hour, I've meet everyone who's supposed to be dead, and I mean everyone.
Yesterday, I just saw all of them died in front of me, and today, they're all enjoying themselves.
I'm starting to question that whether I'm already dead or not.
Damn it, I don't even know what's happening anymore.
Screw it, it's good to see my friends again.
"Come on, Kouichi! It's time to go to the Ferris wheel!" Izumi said happily, before dragging me toward the giant rotating wheel in front of me.
"Wha? Hey!? What about Naoya?!"
"Just give him some privacy with Afira-chan! Don't worry about them." Izumi replied. "Now, it's just you and me, Ko-i-chi!"
So there I was, on the Ferris wheel, alone with Izumi, while it slowly ascends.
"U-um, why are we here?" I asked.
Izumi pouted. "You idiot! This is what you say during our first date?!"
I blinked.
Our date?
Izumi just turned her head away from me in frustration, looking outside.
"Oh, look. There's Mei-chan down there!" She pointed at one of the stalls below us.
I turned to look, and saw none other than Mei Misaki standing at the shooting gallery alongside another male student.
Yomiyama Misaki.
"What's she doing with Yomiya?" I asked Izumi.
"Yomiya? Yomiya who?"
"The boy who's standing next to her! Yomiyama Misaki!"
Izumi seemed confused by what I've said.
"There's no Yomiyama Misaki, Kouichi. That guy's Yukito Ayatsuji. He's been dating Mei-chan for almost two months now."
Yukito Ayatsuji? Who the heck is that guy!?
That's definitely Yomiyama Misaki down there!
Izumi stared at me.
"Is there anything wrong, Kouichi? You're not like yourself for a while now..."
She asked, her voice sounded concerned.
"Ah, I..."
Damn it, how should I explain this to her?
Something's wrong, real wrong.
"Izumi, do you know...about the calamity?"
This time, Izumi seemed bewildered by my question.
"What are you talking about? What calamity? Oh, you just took that out of one of your horror novels, right?"
Okay, this is not normal at all.
What the hell did she mean by that!?
And why is...damn it, everything's not the same as it was!
"No! I mean, the calamity! The countermeasures, the Extra one, do any of these make sense to you at all!? Is it start yet!? Where's Akira, I mean, where's Mr. Seito, the principal!? Why is everyone so calm about this!" I asked frantically. I got up from my seat before shaking her body.
"Just calm down, Kouichi! You're scaring me!"
Izumi turned her face away from me, she seemed scared.
I finally let her go. Damn it, what's wrong with me!?
"I'm...I'm sorry..."
Izumi gave me a worried look.
"Are you sick, Kouichi? You've been acting really, really strange. Maybe you needed some rest?"
Suddenly, the ferris wheel stopped, trapping us on the top of the wheel.
"What the hell's happening down there?"
The mechanic arrived soon after, and announced that ferris wheel has a minor malfunction and it's gonna take a while to fix it. In the meantime, we're struck here.
"Just great. Now I'm going home late again..." Izumi said.
"Listen Izumi, I didn't mean to scare you like that." I finally said.
"It's all right. I don't mind that. I'm getting used to you doing funny things!" She smiled.
"But honestly, that was really scary, Kouichi. I thought you're gonna attack me or something! Seriously, something's wrong with you, I'm sure."
I didn't say anything.
"Come on, Kouichi, you're my boyfriend! If something's bothering you, you need to tell me! Maybe I can help you, but don't keep it to yourself like this! It's bad for both of us, you know?" She said.
Huh? Boyfriend?
"...Wha...what did you just say?"
"I'm telling you to just tell me what's bothering you so I can help!"
"No, before that."
"Huh? Oh, this is some kind of joke, isn't it? You actually forgot that you're my boyfriend!?" Izumi crossed her arms. Her voice sounded upset.
Aw shit.
"Wa-wait! I'm sorry!"
"Then just tell me what's bothering you so we could get done with it!"
"You...you sure you really wanted to know about it?"
Izumi nodded in response.
I took a deep breath, "Hah, okay, it started because of somebody's death twenty-six years ago..."
Half an hour later, I finished my story.
Just like the last time I explained the truth to her, she doesn't seem really surprised or shocked from knowing the truth at all.
"If all of that happened for real, you sure've been through quite an adventure." Izumi said.
"You seem so awfully calm about this, Izumi."
Well, not exactly calm, to say. I can still see the fear inside her eyes.
Maybe I shouldn't be telling her all of this.
Finally, Izumi spoke.
"There's no such things in this town, Kouichi. If what that voice in your dream told you is true, you've been brought to the timeline where there is no calamity. Nothing ever happened twenty-six years ago, Kouichi. Everyone is living here in peace. No strange cults, no homicidal maniacs, no ghosts walking the Earth, all of us is here..."
She put her hand on my shoulder.
"Everything is fine now, Kouichi. The only thing you have to worry about right now is the midterm exam tomorrow."
"It was just...so many things happened all at once. One moment, I was mourning my friends' deaths and how I was powerless to stop it, later I found myself back into the past that's not even the same as mine. It's just...shocking." I explained.
"No kidding."
We stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.
Seconds later, the ferris wheel started moving again.
"About time this thing started moving! It's getting dark already, I'm sleepy." Izumi yawned.
By the time we finally got off the ferris wheel, the sun already went down.
Half an hour later, my friends went their separate ways, but I decided to accompany Izumi back to her home.
"Hey, Izumi?"
"Yeah?"
"Just, forget that I said anything, okay? I don't want you to feel depressed about it..."
Izumi just smiled.
"Heh, I'll pretended it's one of your ideas for horror novels. Yukito would love that."
"Just promise me one thing. Just, be careful...okay?" I said worriedly.
"You still have a long life ahead of you. Don't let something like an accident because of a simple mistake to take all of that away. It's...it's not worth it. Nothing's worth more than living to see another day."
Izumi is speechless. She didn't know how to respond.
We arrived at her home at long last.
"So, see you tomorrow, Izumi." I said goodbye to her, even though some parts inside me didn't want to.
You don't know when's going to be the last time to see your friends, your family, your loved ones. It might be just an hour ago when you talked, played, laughed with him or her, and all of a sudden, they're just gone from our lives.
Izumi just waved at me.
As I turned to walk away, a pair of soft, tender arms wrapped around me, along with a warm feeling in my back.
Izumi?
"Kouichi...I..."
Her voice trembled. She sounded like she's going to burst out crying any moment.
"I...I know how you feel. I understand how you feel! What you've been through, it's...Hell, I don't have a clue how you could keep your mind stable after all that!"
"Some of my friends' been through a lot worse than me, Izumi. Some of them didn't make it, someone like you..."
"But you had to watch them all happened! You watched your friends died in front of you! You...Goddamnit, you watched me died in front of you, and you couldn't do a single damn thing to stop them!"
She tightened her arms around me, like she doesn't want to let go of me.
"I..."
"Don't say anything, Kouichi. Don't do anything. You've done enough..."
I don't know what to do...
What do I feel at this moment?
Awkward? Nervous? Confused? Relaxed?
Maybe all of them.
She finally let go of me. I turned to face her one more time.
Izumi's face is covered in tears, but she's still smiling at the same time.
"Why are you crying?"
"Because I love you, dumbass!" was the only respond coming out from her, before she ran back into her home and slamming the door shut.
"I'm home..." I said weakly, exhausted from the evening.
But what awaits me in the living room managed to shock me once again.
Aunt Reiko is there, sitting next to my grandparents, along with...with...with them...
My mother, Ritsuko Sakakibara, is sitting on the couch, smiling happily at me, along with...
"MAN, I SURE LOVE IT HERE IN THIS TOWN! INDIA'S JUST TOO FREAKING HOT!"
Holy crap!
"Dad!? What are you doing here!?"
The one and the only Yousuke Sakakibara, my father, is sitting across my mother and aunt Reiko, drinking his glass of beer.
"Oh, come on! Is this what you say to your father after he's gone for a whole year?!"
He pushed the glass away, before lunged at me, and hug me tightly.
"Welcome home, son!"
I...this...what!?
"I, er, welcome back, dad," I said, still confused about the sudden turn of events.
But I admitted, I do missed him. After all, it's been years since I last saw him from my perspective.
When I last heard of my dad, he said he's about to return to Japan to be with me soon after the calamity ended. He never made it. His plane crashed because of an engine malfunction. His body was never recovered.
"Aw, isn't that sweet, Yousuke-kun?" My mom said.
"Where's my camera! I need to take some pictures!" Reiko yelled out loud. Almost out of character for her.
"Chill out, Reiko! You're going to give me a heart attack!" My grandpa said, earning a good laugh from everyone.
We had a dinner together that evening, before I excused myself and retreated to my room.
I took a shower, a much-needed shower. Man, this feels like heaven.
It was only this moment I have a time to think.
I tried to recall the last thing that mysterious voice told me.
"That's why I'm here, Kouichi. For all your hard work, you deserved some reward for you..."
Reward? Is this what she meant by that?
Brought me to the timeline with no calamity after I finding out the reason that caused it?
Heh. Looks like I have to thank her for this.
I definitely wanted this. It's what I always wanted.
.
.
.
"What you always wanted? Heh. No matter what timeline, you're still the same, naive Kouichi Sakakibara!"
And you're still the same annoying stalker from the future.
"Hey! I'm not a stalker! And I'm the reason you could be here right now, you know?!"
Right! Right! I'm just joking!
"Hmph!"
Seriously, thank you. I mean, really. You don't know how much you lifted my grief for doing this to me.
"You did your job, I did mine. It's nothing serious. You earned this. Kouichi."
So, how did what I do helped things, exactly?
"Simple. Now we know what...I mean who, is behind the calamity, I just sent your memories with that knowledge to every timeline. Luckily, you were smart enough to gain your friends' help and sent Akira Matsumoto back to death before he even realized what's going on, before doing the same to Rei...I mean Ms. Mikami, who's, as you already know, is the Extra one of that year. The calamity has been stopped, permanently this time, all thanks to you."
Still, there's no way to save Reiko?
"We've been through this, Kouichi. We can't save her. She's already gone by the time you got into Yomi North, and I don't want to risk sending your memories back any more further than that. Too many unknown variables. I hate to say it, but the past is the past. What's done is done."
Couldn't put it any better myself.
"Yeah."
.
.
.
Now what?
"Maybe I should go now. You've earned the rest, Kouichi. Don't waste it."
Wait, you haven't told me who you are yet!
(The voice cracked a laugh)
"You seriously don't know!? You're more naive than I thought, daddy!"
Daddy?
"My name is Izumi Sakakibara, you and Dr. Mei Misaki's beloved daugther!"
What the hell!? What are...!? Ahhh!
"Aw, dad, you're adorable."
Not the point! All these time, and I didn't figure out it was you!? What kind of a father I am!?
"Calm down, daddy! It's alright!"
NO! It's not alright at all! I should've...great...here it comes again.
"What?"
I almost totally forgot about you! These past few days and all that mind screws, I totally forgot about you and Mei! Damn it, now I feel like I'm the most irresponsible parent ever...
"You apologized too much, dad. Now you made me feel like erasing your memories..."
Don't...you...ever...think... about that!
(Another giggles coming from her.)
.
.
.
"I guess I still owe you an explanation for this also. Well, daddy, you've been a great father to me all these years, and it's true. Despite all the hardships you encountered in your school years, you did your best to raise me to become what I am today. But you're always so grim. You rarely smiles and cries a lot when you're alone. I don't want that, so I ask mom to tell me about your past."
You did mention Dr. Mei Misaki. What do you mean by that? Since when did she become a doctor?
"Mei Misaki, your wife, my mother...argh, it's weird to describe her like this... Anyways, she was studying her doctor's degree in Physics, probably because she told me she was interested in 'seeing things others couldn't'. She came up the concept of sending memories back into your alternate past selves, in order to experiment on how to create an alternate timeline, where we could change every made decisions without any risks posed to the present or future."
You're joking, right? Your mother never seem like someone who's interested in this kind of thing.
"I don't know. She said she got the 'idea' from her dream, almost ten years ago, I think, telling me that she wanted to fix the mistakes she have made in the past. From then, she devoted herself into studying to become one of the most famous physicist in Japan."
Whoa, that's some achievement.
"Yeah, I became her assistant when I finished high school."
Seriously? You must be pretty smart.
"Not really..."
.
.
.
So, will I ever see you again?
"Come on, dad. I'll come visiting! When you sleeps, of course!"
Heh.
"Just take care of mom, okay? Oh wait, that Yukito boy will probably do a good job on that."
Yukito? You mean Yomiyama Misaki?
"Yeah, but his name is Yukito in this timeline. He's also quite fond of mystery novels, always writing short stories in his free time. You know, maybe you could give him some idea for his next work?"
Heh, will do.
"Oh, and dad, I have no quarrel with you if you date with Izumi Akazawa, okay? You two made a good match, if I do say so myself!"
T-that's none of your business!
"Hahaha! I'm soooo love to tease you!"
.
.
.
Seriously? I mean, wouldn't it create a time paradox or something? Maybe you wouldn't be born or erased from existence?
"Aaand you're talking like Einstein again. Remember, dad, this is a different timeline. What you do here doesn't affect anything in mine. If you're still having some moral issues, well, I have a message from you."
From me?
"Yeah. He said that you 'do whatever you want with Izumi, but the woman *I* love is the one and the only Mei Misaki, now get lost!'."
I think you deliberately added the last line...
"I'm not! That's exactly what he told me to tell you!"
Heh, I'm soooo love to tease you, my daugther.
"Ahhhh!"
.
.
.
.
...I guess this is goodbye, then.
"It's been a hell of an adventure, dad. Never thought I'm going to be the one to help you like this."
Yeah...
"Don't worry! If I have time, I'll come visiting."
Heh, thanks. Be sure to bring some good stories. You're a good storyteller, you know?
"Thanks, dad. See ya."
Goodbye, Izumi-chan...
I just remembered this morning that Izumi told me about today's midterm test.
Aw hell, I haven't do any preparations!
Well, technically, I'm an adult now, so what little knowledge still left inside me could probably help a bit.
I had some breakfast, before my parents, along with Reiko, in her Ms. Mikami persona, bring me in my mom's personal car to school.
It's a new experience for me, a good one at that, also.
Never imagined that I could be with my whole family for once in my life...
The test itself isn't as painful as I thought. Even the mostly laid-back Naoya passed the test with no problems, albeit barely. I thought it might have something to do with the new transfer girl, Afira-chan, isn't it? Those two seemed close to each other. Naoya did mention that she helped him studying for his test and, as a repay, he goes out with her.
Who could've thought about that, huh?
Anyways, I have my own business with Izumi. She confronted me after the school ended.
"Oi, Kouichi! Could you help me with my student council works?" She said cheerfully.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Izumi is now working as a member of the Student Council, as opposed to the class's countermeasure officer.
"No...I'm tired. The test's killing me. I want to go home..." I jokingly said to her.
"Hey! That's unacceptable! I can't deal with all these works on my own!"
"That's no good, Sakakibara-kun..." Mei Misaki suddenly appeared out of nowhere, before speaking in her usual emotionless voice. "You shouldn't let the lady do all the work."
"I agreed with that, Kouichi! Some gentleman you are!" Yomiya, no, Yukito, agreed with her.
"Arrg, alright, alright!"
I finally gave up, and turned to face Izumi.
"As a thank you for yesterday, I'll help you do all the work today. Just tell me what to do!" I said.
"Really!? Thank you so much!"
And then she kissed me...
...on the cheek.
"Aw! Isn't that cute!" Afira and Naoya joined in with us.
"Wha? Where did you guys come from!?"
"Kubodera just called me outside to discuss about my grades, nothing big, but damn! Look at you two!" Naoya said.
"You two are made for each other!" Aya appeared next to Naoya.
"Hey, nobody welcomes you here!" Naoya teased her, which earned a pout from Aya.
"Hey, Yukito, didn't you said you were looking for inspirations for your story?" I asked Yukito, who surprisingly wears a pair of reading glasses, though I admit it does look great on him.
"Yeah? You have anything I could use?"
"Plenty. I think you'll love this." I told him. "It's about..."
Before I finished, Izumi dragged me out of the room.
"Alright! Alright! Today's a long day! Kouichi and I needed some rest, so he's coming with me. See you guys tomorrow!"
What's with her!?
"Oi, oi! What's with all the hurry!? It's still a long time until dark!"
Izumi didn't say anything. She just dragged me along with her.
We ended up at the last place I could think to be there.
The rooftop...
It's surprisingly clean. No signs of rusty railings and dirty floor anywhere.
"Izumi? Why did you bring me here? Aren't we supposed to be doing student council works?"
"I'm just kidding, Kouichi. I said that because I wanted to spend some time with you..."
She said while smiling. One of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen.
She slowly approaching me.
"Look, Izumi, about yesterday, I didn't mean to..."
"Just shut up." She grinned, before bringing her face closer...
...and then our lips met.
This is the best day of my life.
Editor's note: Well, there goes. The end of the story. My mission completed. I've saved my beloved Izumi at long last! HAHAHAHAHA! Laughs like a maniac.
Okay, the first thing you'll notice that the blatant cameo of my favorite fellow fanfiction writer, Afira Braide. I recently released another ANOTHER fanfic dedicated to her, and so you know, this chapter actually took place after that story.
Another cameo is for the writer of Another himself, Yukito Ayatsuji, a.k.a, Yomiyama Misaki (LOL I just made that up!). I wanted to say thank you to him personally for the great horror story he gave us, although I don't really satisfy with the ending... All rights to the contents of this fic belonged to him, minus the original OCs I made up. (I don't know if I write this right...I'm not too good at English...)
So, it ends! But there'll be two more chapters after this LOL. But for now, enjoy the happy ending Kouichi earned after years of physical and emotional torture. He deserved it, everyone deserved it, and I'm happy to say that I finally did what I longed to do after finishing the damn anime. IZUMI LIVES!